Themes
The fragile nature of slum buildings is explored in the poem
A number of unifying ideas or Central, unifying idea(s) that run through a text. run through the poem. Different readers may attach more or less significance to each of these themes, depending upon how they view the poem.
| Theme | Evidence | Analysis |
| Fragility: the building structures and the eggs are both fragile. The buildings have no 'straight lines' and are held together by nails that 'clutch at open seams'. | 'fragile curves of white/ hung out over the dark edge' | Like the buildings, the eggs are in a position of danger. Where the buildings threaten to collapse, the eggs are hanging out into the darkness where they could easily fall and smash. |
| Faith: to live in a space that is unstable and apparently verging on collapse requires a strong faith in the building's structure. | 'The whole structure leans dangerously / towards the miraculous.' | The adverb 'dangerously' contrasts with the word 'miraculous'. One makes us fearful and the other implies awe. It seems to be a miracle that the structure stays intact at all. |
| Boldness: there is a boldness implied in the way that people squeeze into these structures and, despite the apparent danger, create a living space. They add ordinary objects to make a home, hanging wire baskets of eggs in the same way people would in more sturdy buildings. | 'and even dared to place/ these eggs in a wire basket' | The word 'dared' shows that the speaker has a sense of wonder at the way people are living here. The eggs are a symbol of the people's boldness. |
| Theme | Fragility: the building structures and the eggs are both fragile. The buildings have no 'straight lines' and are held together by nails that 'clutch at open seams'. |
|---|---|
| Evidence | 'fragile curves of white/ hung out over the dark edge' |
| Analysis | Like the buildings, the eggs are in a position of danger. Where the buildings threaten to collapse, the eggs are hanging out into the darkness where they could easily fall and smash. |
| Theme | Faith: to live in a space that is unstable and apparently verging on collapse requires a strong faith in the building's structure. |
|---|---|
| Evidence | 'The whole structure leans dangerously / towards the miraculous.' |
| Analysis | The adverb 'dangerously' contrasts with the word 'miraculous'. One makes us fearful and the other implies awe. It seems to be a miracle that the structure stays intact at all. |
| Theme | Boldness: there is a boldness implied in the way that people squeeze into these structures and, despite the apparent danger, create a living space. They add ordinary objects to make a home, hanging wire baskets of eggs in the same way people would in more sturdy buildings. |
|---|---|
| Evidence | 'and even dared to place/ these eggs in a wire basket' |
| Analysis | The word 'dared' shows that the speaker has a sense of wonder at the way people are living here. The eggs are a symbol of the people's boldness. |
Question
How does Imtiaz Dharker present people in this poem?
- Dharker suggests that people are bold and creative by showing how they can live in spaces that are apparently unstable.
- The poet shows that people are as fragile as eggs.
- The poem implies that faith makes living in these spaces possible, faith in the structure itself and faith in life.